Lionheart (1987) User Reviews

Interesting failure undone by bad casting and editing

[burrobaggy · 6/10 · 7 August 2005]

Lionheart - The Children's Crusade was an interesting find in a bargain bin at a video shop - a medieval epic that I'd never even heard of from the director of Patton, produced by Coppola and with music by Jerry Goldsmith. Looking it up on the IMDb, not many others have either: it only seems to have played a week in Detroit! Why? Well, the obvious reason is it's not very good.

Its got a solid script about a disgraced young French knight who finds himself leading a bunch of abandoned children to the Holy Land to join King Richard's crusade and coming up against Gabriel Byrne's disillusioned crusader turned child-slave-trader. But it often looks like chunks are missing, and the kids are pretty awful: Eric Stoltz very effeminate and uncharismatic as the lead, Dexter Fletcher irritating as the lovable Artful Dodger type and Nicola Cowper a one-woman petrified forest as the love interest - I've never, ever seen an actress stay as rigidly immobile or as impervious to emotion as this gal. It's like watching a beautifully made up corpse in early rigor mortis for 105 minutes. Only Deborah Moore seems to give it a bit of wellie as a tomboyish female whose far more manly than the hero.

Bits of it do work, and Byrne's dark knight character is genuinely interesting and gets all the best dialogue, but the main interest is Jerry Goldsmith's astonishingly good score, one of the best I've ever heard for an epic even if it disappears towards the end. Worth a look but set expectations on low.

low grade high adventure

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 16 December 2014]

It's the end of the 12th century. The young pious Robert Narra (Eric Stoltz) sets out to join The Third Crusade with King Richard the Lionheart. On route, he runs away from a battle. He encounters two escaped performers/thieves Michael (Dexter Fletcher) and his sister Mathilda (Deborah Moore). Michael would like to go to Paris. They seek shelter at a monastery where they're told about The Black Prince (Gabriel Byrne) who captures and sells children to the Muslims. The Black Prince is a disillusioned former crusader. In Paris, they are captured by the orphans of the Underground City. The Black Prince kills the mayor of the Underground City and plans to capture the army of orphans as they go off to join the crusade.

The Children's Crusade is not a happy story. The problem is that the goal is not well conceived. In order for this to work for a modern audience, they need to find a nicer place for them to strive for. I don't know why anybody would root for the kids to get to the crusade. Also this doesn't feel real enough to be gritty or fanciful enough to be magical. It operates in a weird middle ground where neither is satisfied. Jerry Goldsmith brings an epic score to this not-so epic movie.

Booorrring!

[raop74 · 5/10 · 2 August 2002]

I'm sure this movie was meant to be more exciting, but at less than 2 hours, it still drags. Perhaps it's because of the mediocre acting, or the low budget, or all the American accents, or the perpetual gray background. Okay, I understand that these were terrible times, but can't there be a little bit of brightness? You can watch evildoers get taken out by bits of rock, and just hope someone muffles the background music once in a while - trust me, it gets really distracting. And who wants to see hordes of starving and dying children? Overall, a tremendous disappointment.

Legendary score by Jerry Goldsmith

[moviescore-1 · 28 July 2004]

Although Franklin J. Schaffner's last film was considered to be a big disappointment, I would like to point out that the original score composed by the late Jerry Goldsmith for this film is a masterpiece which showcases the brilliance of the greatest film composer of all time. The work propelled two original score album releases issued by Varèse Sarabande, plus a subsequent album entitled "Lionheart: The Epic Symphonic Score". Written for orchestra and subtle electronics, the score presents Jerry Goldsmith in his most thematic, epic and romantic style. Performed in concert, the heraldic "Robert's Theme" remains one of the composer's most memorable compositions.

Medieval mediocrity....

[davegfrancis · 2/10 · 20 August 2021]

Hopeless story, pathetic editing and abysmal casting lead to nothing more than probably one of, if not the worst medieval movies ever made. Bizarre edits in a narrative so uninteresting that you really feel its running time, let alone the pathetic set pieces that neither make sense or add any form of entertainment value. Should we talk sword play? Without doubt the worst you could possibly put on celluloid, the final fight should make both Stoltz and Byrne shudder with embarrassment. There really is no wonder why this missed my radar, considering it was produced around the same time as Highlander, Ladyhawke and Willow, it looks so dated and pathetic in comparison. Cheap and nasty, with that typical over dubbed extras and pathetic periphery ensemble. It's a really hard watch with nothing really to talk about than the score. Avoid.

EXCALIBUR's younger, smaller brother?

[Aylmer · 5/10 · 7 January 2024]

This shockingly obscure film, especially when considering the talent behind the camera, and the lavish production design, stands as an average fantasy adventure without any of the magic of EXCALIBUR. It oddly borrows a few of the same cast members, namely Nicholas Clay and Gabriel Byrne playing very similar character. Byrne, no surprise, snarls his way through the film while our star Eric Stoltz isn't exactly the most engaging or charismatic, but does a fine job with his character of a cowardly knight who finds his true calling protecting children after fleeing the battlefield.

The overall themes track much more closely to the lower-budget EXCALIBUR knockoff that was HEART AND ARMOR in that it focuses heavily on the battles between Moors and Christians. There's even some vague history involving the real-life Children's Crusade and the rampant child slavery of the day thrown in for good measure, though don't expect this film to enlighten you too much as it never goes beyond the surface level. The battle scenes never get too bloody, though it's a violent enough of a film to not seem aimed squarely at young viewers. There are plenty of goofy scenes sprinkled in, like the little flags on a fortress roboticly raising and lowering depending on who's in charge.

I can see why this film failed to find the legacy audience of FLESH + BLOOD or LADYHAWKE (made around the same time) as it's not as gritty and realistic as the former nor romantic and anachronistic as the latter. However I had to say I enjoyed it far more than either of those. At least there's not any sexual assault or Matthew Broderick gumming up the works.

This is a great movie about the effects of war on everyone.

[chefskigolf · 7/10 · 20 January 2003]

Lionheart is a great film about what happens to everyone, particularly children, during war. As a knight makes his way to join King Richard on the Crusades, he picks up a band of children, which he must protect from the Black Knight. The Black Night wants these children as slaves. Follow the band of children and their lord as they try to beat the odds and make it to King Richard.

Oh, this one comes SO close!..

[Wizard-8 · 10 February 1999]

This movie is perfect in almost every way, but one thing ruins it. First the good stuff: we have action, romance, evil, great locations and sets, a great Jerry Goldsmith score, and an original plot: what happens to children in war?

So how come the movie doesn't work? It's the pace. Everything in this movie happens at AN INCREDIBLY SLOW PACE. You'll get impatient and frustrated. And that ruins the wonderful feel everything else has built up.

What a shame. What a real shame.

Raise the music volume!

[redmanreturns · 24 May 2005]

Muffle the Background music? You're kidding right? The music to this film is enough reason to try to hunt down the movie or soundtrack. This was the last film scored by Jerry Goldsmith for director Franklin J. Scaffner. They lowered the music in and out which was wrong because the film needs the music. It's not as bad as everyone says it is. Sure it drags but it's nice to see an original idea about the Crusades where Richard I is not the center of the movie. It has flaws but it's still entertaining. It's overdue for DVD since most movies from the 80s are released with no special features anyway (widescreen please). I'd rather watch this than the recent garbage like Kingdom of Heaven.

Outstanding

[koohii · 13 August 2003]

This is probably the best fantasy movie set in a historical period that has been made. The story does not insult the audience by assuming they are ignorant, and requires that people actually pay attention.

Yes, the accents aren't entirely accurate. Yes, some things are not explained. Tough. The arms, armor, and tactics are accurate and properly executed. The duel between Robert and Matilda is both amusing and impressive. No Wirefu, no anachronistic eastern martial arts, nothing in the movie that doesn't belong.

Music is also excellent, and unlike LadyHawk, appropriate to the feel of the movie.

The only reason I can figure for this movie not being a bigger success is that people confused it with the Jean Clod Van-Dummie movie of the same name.

Crusading Children

[staisil2 · 1 June 2003]

This movie seemed to be a little slow at times, and im just like "come on, whats happening?" but, the acting (especially by stoltz and byrne), the scenery, the action, and the romance was built for a great movie. i did enjoy watching this movie, though, it was decent. 7.3 out of 10.